One, Two, Three, He's Yours
by DiehardJavaJunkie14
Summary: What would happen if the girls counted Luke as number three in Ps. I lo...? AU JavaJunkie chapter story.
1. Is Luke Number Three?

**A/N: So what would happen if Lorelai went with her true number 3 in "Ps. I Lo…"? It's yet another chapter story, so enjoy. Dialogue borrowed from said episode, very little of it, actually, and altered and twisted to meet my fiction needs. Enjoy!**

"_What are you looking for?"_

"_My new husband."_

"_She's already passed up two perfectly good prospects."_

"_But I'm feeling pretty good about number three."_

"_Do I want to know what you're doing?"_

"_Hey, Luke came to the table, does that make him number three?"_

"Number three?" Luke asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah, we're..." she saw the uncomfortable expression on her mother's face and trailed off.

"Okay... what will you have?"

Lorelai looked up at Luke and stuttered. "Uh, well… I…"

"Do you need a minute to order?" Luke asked.

Rory shook her head. "We'll both just have our usual, thanks, Luke."

As Luke walked away, Lorelai watched him. Luke? Number Three? It was too coincidental, too… easy. It was one of those things that couldn't possibly just be "placed" right in front of her like that. She watched him walk around the diner, serving the other customers and disappear into the kitchen to make their food. She was jarred out of her concentration by Rory.

"Mom, you okay?" Rory asked.

Lorelai turned to her daughter and nodded. "I'm just trying my telepathy skills. I wanted more coffee, so I thought that maybe Luke would be able to read my mind."

Rory sighed, looking out the window. "I know you're lying, you can tell me," she said softly.

"Well, that was just weird. I have a reason to be slightly freaked out," Lorelai said, gesturing toward Luke as she spoke. "It wasn't just some random guy this time, it was LUKE."

As Lorelai started on her rant, Rory turned to her mom. "What's the difference between a random guy and Luke?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, he's… Luke. He's someone we see every day, and he feeds us."

"As opposed to Al, who you ended up with last week?"

"Forget it. It was just really stupid," Lorelai said, outwardly trying to convince herself and convince Rory that it was no big deal. But it was a big deal to her, all of a sudden. It was a silly game, a game she and Rory would play for fun, for entertainment and mockery. It wasn't supposed to make you choose your actual mate. So, why was Lorelai so upset about it?

She had no idea. She thought about it all day at the inn. Lorelai was officially out of it for the rest of the day. She went through the motions of her day, slowly but surely, but she was so wrapped up in the morning's events that she was unsure of what to do with herself.

"Lorelai? Are you okay?" Sookie asked, wiping her hands on her apron.

Lorelai simply nodded. "I'm fine."

Sookie grabbed Lorelai's arm and pulled her into the kitchen. "All right, now, I'm afraid if you don't come back to Earth now, you're going to end up like Amelia Earhart. What's going on?"

Lorelai sat down on the stool. "I don't know, I guess it was breakfast."

"Did you eat the Toaster Strudels that had been sitting out again? I told you not to," Sookie chided, chopping up some celery.

"No, no Toaster Strudels for me. Rory and I were at Luke's this morning, playing one, two, three he's yours, and all of a sudden, Luke's number three!" Lorelai explained.

Sookie gasped, placing her knife on the cutting board. "Luke?"

Lorelai nodded. "Luke."

"As if that's not fate telling you right then and there that you're meant to be together," Sookie replied.

"Sookie, I like Luke, he's a good guy, but I've been thinking about this for a long time today… I don't know if I'm so… I don't know why I'm taking so much stock in this little game," Lorelai insisted. "It's a game. I didn't get upset when I ended up with Taylor."

"Aw, honey, I think you know why you're so upset."

Lorelai shook her head. "Seriously, Sook, if you were suddenly thrown together like that, with a guy you've known for forever, wouldn't you have a very similar reaction?"

Just as Sookie began to explain her reaction, Michel came into the kitchen, holding the phone at arms length. "Lorelai, your stalker is on the phone," he said, handing her the telephone and leaving.

Lorelai scrunched up her nose and wondered who it could possibly be. "My stalker? And all this time I thought that _I _was_ Bono's _stalker, and now I have my own!Hello?" she answered.

"Lorelai?" Max's voice asked from the other line.

She wasn't surprised to hear his voice, but she rubbed her temple, knowing this would add to her already stressful day. "Hi," she replied.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, of course not. Where are you?"

"In the teacher's lounge," Max replied.

Lorelai sighed. "That sounds exciting."

"Well, they have coffee, so you'd approve."

She giggled. "You know me well. What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking about something and wanted to run it past you," Max admitted.

Lorelai walked out of the kitchen. "Shoot," she replied.

"We've been having these very successful phone calls for a couple of weeks now."

"Yes we have," Lorelai echoed.

"And I think that all the talking has done us a lot of good," Max continued.

Lorelai agreed, knowing exactly what was coming. "Yes, it has."

Max sighed. "So I was thinking that maybe this weekend instead of a phone call, we should have a date. Let's have dinner."

Lorelai didn't know what to say. A week ago, she would have said yes. But the earlier events of the day got her thinking about her relationship with Max. Did she really want this as badly as Max did? Was it fair to lead him on like that?

"Max, I…" she started.

"I know you're busy, and I'm busy, but we can figure out a time that works for the both of us," he explained.

Lorelai let out a nervous laugh. "That's usually how two people plan a date," she replied.

"So?" Max asked.

She sighed. "I can't, Max. I'm sorry."


	2. Proposals and Junk Food

**A/N: Some dialogue borrowed from "Love, Daisies and Troubadours." Enjoy.**

"You can't?" Max confirmed.

Lorelai sighed. "I'm really sorry. It's been nice talking to you, but… leading you on would be wrong, Max. I like you, a lot… but this whole thing of us being a couple? I don't see it working."

"Oh," Max said, sounding completely dejected from the other line. "All right, then, I guess I'll see you around."

"Bye, Max," Lorelai said, hanging up the telephone. She knew that she didn't love Max, and stopping a potential problem before it got bigger made her feel much less stress in the area of her love life. She still wasn't sure about the incident in the diner earlier, though. Why was she so obsessed with who was number three?

Lorelai was on autopilot for the rest of the day. She got back to the Crap Shack and plopped herself onto the couch, lifelessly searching for the remote. "Rory? Can you hand me the remote, sweets?"

"Bad day?" Rory asked, seating herself on the arm of the couch.

"Yes, doctor, I've been having that dream again, that I'm meeting Jack Nicholson, and all I can say is 'hey, you're McMurphy, you're supposed to be dead, Chief killed you!' and of course, there's plenty of other movies that Jack Nicholson is in. But that seems to be the only one I can elaborate on!" Lorelai said, putting her hand to her forehead, mocking distress.

Rory shrugged. "I think the one that flew over the cuckoo's nest was you, and you caught something from it," she teased. "Really, bad day?"

"Max asked me on a date," Lorelai said, closing her eyes.

"A date, date?" Rory confirmed.

Lorelai sighed. "A candles, roses, restaurant, at the same table, giving googly eyes and playing footsie date."

"That's a date if I've ever heard of one," Rory reasoned. "What did you say?"

"I said no," Lorelai said, sitting up. "But on any other day, I would have said 'yes.' This is killing me, Rory, this stupid 'one, two, three' thing. Whoever invented that game… nah, I shouldn't say it. Then I'd have to do whatever I thought I'd do, but to myself."

Rory put her hand on her mom's shoulder. "Look. I know it's bothering you. Understandably so. It bothered me when I ended up with Harry the Twinkle light man. But you know, I think this is your subconscious calling."

"Well, I'm hanging up on him," Lorelai said dramatically.

"Mom, all I'm saying is that maybe you're reading a little too much into it. Just take it easy for the rest of the night, and all will be well in the morning. I promise. I'll answer the phone and the door, I'll even go and get you some Mallomars, if you want," Rory suggested.

Lorelai smiled. "I love being pampered, thank you."

"Anytime. I can be Lurch just as good as I can be Rory. If anyone calls, I'll just say, 'you rang?' or if any cleaning needs to be done I can become Alice from 'The Brady Bunch'. And to get there, I'll just wiggle my nose. It's rather complicated, but it can be done," Rory explained. "I'll be right back with the Mallomars."

Lorelai was relieved. She was so glad that Rory was taking care of her. Rory was right, after all, she was reading far more into all of this than anyone really needed to in the situation. It was only a game. She finally realized that she was sitting on the remote, and pulled it out from underneath her. She flipped through the channels until she saw a cheesy Lifetime movie to watch. Kicking off her shoes and slumping down on the couch, she began to immerse herself in the movie.

When the doorbell suddenly rang, Lorelai jumped. She was surprised that someone was looking for her, especially on a night like she was having. She pulled herself off of the couch, mentally running through the list of people that could be on the other side. After reaching the door, she had decided that as long as it wasn't her mother, she could stand being interrupted. She pulled the door open to find Max outside.

"Max?" Lorelai asked.

"I needed to see you," Max insisted, allowing himself inside.

Lorelai watched as Max walked in. "Come on in, why don't you?" she whispered under her breath.

"Why do we do this? Why do we let it get weird between us just when it's getting good again?"

Lorelai was confused. "I don't know," she said tentatively.

"I don't like it," Max declared.

"I don't either," Lorelai said.

Max continued. "And I'm sick of it."

"Well, so am I," Lorelai answered. "I'm sick of the awkwardness of 'are we a couple?' and 'are we dating again' and 'do we really like each other?' and that's why…"

"We can't keep getting this close just to have something completely derail us again. And frankly there's only one thing I can think of that could solve it," Max interrupted.

Lorelai was thankful that Max had started her on the road she needed to go on. "Break up," she replied.

"Ugh," Max grunted.

"Well, I'm not interested in a murder-suicide kind of thing," Lorelai replied.

"We should get married," Max suggested.

Lorelai wasn't able to comprehend what Max just said. Did he really just propose to her? "Give me a clue as to whether you're kidding or not," Lorelai said.

"I am not kidding."

"Good clue," Lorelai said nervously.

"What do you say?" Max asked, trying to lead Lorelai into accepting.

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. Max, you did not just propose to me."

"Yes I did," Max replied.

Lorelai tugged at the bottom of her sweatshirt. "Did you not get the hint from our phone conversation earlier that I wasn't interested anymore? Because I tried to let you down gently, but apparently I was too gentle."

"I thought you weren't interested in a date yet, that's all. I figured if we… saw each other again, you might change your mind," Max explained.

She shook her head once more. "I don't understand, Max. I said no, you accepted my answer."

Max sighed. "Apparently it's not going to work," he said, defeated.

"I thought you'd get it when I was on the phone with you, Max. I'm sorry to lead you on, but I don't want to marry you, and I'm not in love with you," Lorelai apologized.

He shrugged. "You win some, you lose some. It's okay. Goodbye, Lorelai." Max opened the door and walked out, passing Rory on the way.

Rory turned to watch Max walk out. "Whoa, what was he doing here?"

Lorelai helped Rory with the bags full of junk food in her arms. "Your teacher just proposed to me," she said.

"What? He did what?" Rory asked.

Lorelai brought the bags to the kitchen table. "He asked me to marry him. I said no. He left. You know, this food looks fantastic."

"Wow, aren't we good at avoiding the subject?"

"I got an 'A' in that class in high school," Lorelai explained. "You know, I could really use a Luke's burger right now. Why don't we head over there, I'll tell you the story, and I'll shake this whole 'one, two, three, he's yours' thing off with a burger and fries?"

Rory nodded. "Anything to get my mom back, jeez, your head has been everywhere today."

Lorelai wrapped her arm around her daughter. "And the day got stranger and stranger as it went on."


	3. Chili Fries Solve Everything

Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner, ready to eat. Rory incessantly asked questions about Lorelai and Max's relationship, or lack thereof, while Lorelai watched Luke serve the other customers in the diner.

"And that's it? You two aren't together anymore?" Rory asked. "I just want to know exactly where this relationship stands, because I don't want to step on any metaphorical toes. I don't want to step on any real toes, but unfortunately, it tends to happen. Mom?"

She turned to Rory, suddenly realizing that she was spacing out again. She had to figure this out, and fast. "Yeah?" Lorelai asked.

Rory smiled. "Never mind," she said with a smile of understanding. "You feeling better?"

Lorelai nodded. "I will be, because coffee and chili fries solve everything. Luke?"

Luke walked over to the table. "What can I get you?" he asked.

"I'll have coffee, in the form of Niagara Falls. Then I'll get a cheeseburger with extra cheese and chili fries as well," Lorelai said, smiling sweetly.

"I'll have the same," Rory added.

Luke went to fill their order and Lorelai thought the happenings of the day through. If she did end up with Luke, what would be so bad about that? He was, dare she say it, attractive. He was great to Rory and he could cook, which gave him an automatic gold star from Lorelai. He was over their house a lot anyway, it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Here you go, I hope you enjoy them now, because you won't when you have a heart attack," Luke muttered, placing the plates on the table.

Lorelai grinned, downing chili fries before the burger, to let the 'extra' extra cheese melt some more. She looked at Rory. "So tell me. What do you think of…Kirk?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "If you think I want to bring Kirk to any sort of function as my date and call him my 'cousin,' then you're wrong."

Lorelai snapped her fingers in mock defeat. "What about… Morey?"

"Is there a point to this madness you've created?" Rory asked. "Because I think this entire day has been someone who's done a 'Freaky Friday' and switched into your body."

"I'm just trying to get a temperature for how you're feeling about the townspeople of Stars Hollow. You know, you're so passive aggressive I want to make sure I know who you're mad at. Because, by extension, I also have to be mad at them," Lorelai said with a smile.

Rory sighed. "Eat your chili fries, they're the panacea for this, I'm sure," she encouraged.

"What do you think of Luke?" Lorelai blurted out.

As Rory swallowed her chili fries, she brought the chair in closer to the diner table. "What do you mean, what do I think of Luke? In what way, and with what person?"

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, well, Luke in general?"

"First of all, Luke makes great chili fries, which I urge you to eat, and second, I know you like him, it's okay to tell me. Remember that whole 'best friends' thing?" Rory reminded Lorelai.

"I think I might like him a little," Lorelai admitted.

"A little?"

"A little. Like thumbnail size."

Rory giggled. "Times about 6000," she added.

Luke walked up to the table and cleared Rory's plates. "You want dessert?" he asked.

"No, actually, I was thinking that I need to go study. I have a big test tomorrow that I can't fail, or else my GPA drops. See you later, Mom," Rory said, kissing Lorelai on the cheek.

"Bye, sweets," Lorelai replied, not comprehending the fact that Rory had left her alone with Luke. When Rory walked out the door, Lorelai immediately recognized Rory's plan. She sighed and took a seat at the counter.

Luke looked at her. "Can I help you?"

"I'm guessing you don't believe in signs," Lorelai replied as Luke poured her another cup of coffee.

"Well, without signs, then people wouldn't know where to drive," Luke muttered.

Lorelai laughed. "You're quite the comedian, aren't you? Heeere's Johnny!"

"What are you talking about, signs?" Luke asked.

"Signs. You know, say something happens like, your favorite flannel is stained. Do you say, 'oh, this is going to be a really bad day, because my flannel's stained' or do you just ignore it?"

Luke shook his head. "Interpreting the happenings of one event in one day can't tell you if things are going to go bad. It just doesn't work."

"What about if… you know, there are signs that something's not right?"

"Are you pregnant?" Luke asked, stopping what he was doing.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, no, definitely not. I just… I'm not sure how to tell if this one person likes me or not."

"What does that have to do with semiology?"

She sighed. "Well, there are signs that someone presents when they like you. I just want to know… from a manly perspective. What would you do if you liked a girl? I bet you were the rock thrower as a kid."

"Rock thrower?" Luke repeated.

"You threw rocks at girls to tell them you liked them," Lorelai explained, "But I'm sure now you're much more sophisticated with the ladies."

He shrugged. "I don't fly them to Italy to have pizza and then bring them back, if that's what you mean."

"Well, how do you show a girl you like her?" 

"I've never been a poetry and candy kind of guy, either. I don't really know. I guess I just ask her out."

Lorelai scrunched up her nose. "Without any flirting? Ladies LOVE flirting. They get all giggly and they turn red and they say 'oh, you're so sweet' and they fall into your arms. Well, most would."

"Most would what?"

Lorelai took a deep breath, recognizing immediately the hole she was in. "Fall into your arms."

"I'm not sure about that," Luke replied.

She smiled. "I am," she said, putting on her coat. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but you have ammunition that girls can't resist."

"Such as?" he prodded.

"Well, for starters, you can cook. That wins me over automatically. And… you know… your eyes are nice," she said, adding the last part in quickly before taking a sip of coffee.

He nodded. "Oh. Good to know."

"Yeah, well, uh, I have to get back to the house. But, uh, like I said, flirting? A plus," she said, leaving money on the counter and walking out.

Luke was left behind the counter, speechless.


	4. A Fine Mess

**A/N: I know the story's been a little… iffy so far. Hopefully we can fix that. Read on.**

The next morning, Lorelai woke up to the sound of drilling and hammering in the living room. She was reluctant to open her eyes, but she did, and caught sight of the clock as she did. She rolled over in bed, slightly less angry that it was nine in the morning, and buried her face into her pillow. She let out a groan. What could Luke possibly be fixing this early in the morning? She put on her glasses, her pink piggy slippers and walked downstairs. "Hark, who goes there?" Lorelai asked sleepily.

Luke turned to her. "Uh, I was fixing the door. Rory stopped by the diner on her way to Lane's and told me that it was loose on the hinge. Sorry if I woke you up."

She waved her hand. "It's no big deal, it's Saturday, so I needed to get up eventually. And it's not quite hibernation season yet. Don't you have a diner to run?"

"I figured you'd need coffee, there's some on the table," he said, pointing to the 'to go' cups he'd prepared. "And Caesar took over for me while I came here. It's not like the front door is something you can fix later, unless you want a guy with a hockey mask and a chain saw coming in."

Lorelai took one and sipped it. "And the brain fog slowly clears," she said. "Thanks for the coffee," she said, sipping her coffee again. "And thanks for, uh, fixing the door. We wouldn't want the FBI to be able to break it down that easily. Or we wouldn't want a guy with a chain saw to come and chop us up."

He turned to look at her. "No problem," he answered.

She smiled, sitting back and enjoying watching Luke work. "So where did you learn all this stuff? You can cook, you can fix things, you're good with fixing things. It's pretty impressive."

"Well, my mom taught me to cook, and my dad ran a hardware store, so I was kind of thrown into it. Why?"

She shrugged. "Just asking," she replied. She wanted to keep the conversation going, but with Monosyllabic Luke, it would be nearly impossible. She decided to venture into a subject that could be potentially dangerous, but she'd take the risk in return for the ending of the silence. "So, uh, how's Rachel?"

"She's good," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded. "Things getting serious between you two?"

"Serious? Well, depends on what you call serious."

Lorelai hummed the wedding march. "You know, that kind of serious."

He shook his head. "Not that serious."

"You and Rachel were serious before, though, right? I mean, at least, that's what I heard, was that you guys were… you know, serious," Lorelai rambled.

Luke reached for another tool from his toolbox. "We were serious at one point, but she left. Now she's back. What else do you want me to say?"

"Right. But so now you're together, together, but not serious?" Lorelai confirmed.

"Together, together? What's that mean?"

She sighed. "That you're… I don't know, kissing and flirting, and that kind of stuff?"

"Jeez, what's with all the questions? Yes, Rachel and I are together. Okay?"

She played with the lid to the coffee cup, slightly upset. She'd thought things would be easy, after turning Max's proposal down, after practically telling Luke to flirt with her. Apparently they weren't going to be that simple.

And suddenly she began to think about how Max had proposed to her, and how she had put all of her metaphorical eggs in the one metaphorical basket. She turned him down so quickly, so randomly. And she suddenly felt guilty about it. And this thing she thought she had with Luke? It suddenly didn't exist anymore. Luke was still with Rachel. And Lorelai had apparently misread the whole 'one, two, three he's yours' thing.

Boy, was she acting awfully flighty. She put her coffee cup down, mentally chiding herself for being so wrapped up in what could or could not happen with Luke. After all, she was Lorelai Gilmore. She had never felt such a need to have someone. She'd blown it with Max, without thinking of their history, their phone calls, without thinking of anything at all.

"Your door's fixed," he said, interrupting yet another break in the silence.

Lorelai snapped out of her train of thought. "Right, right. It's fixed," she said, opening and shutting the door, as if to test it. "It opens, shuts, wow, perfect. Maybe tomorrow I'll teach him to roll over," she teased.

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Have you been committed yet? The sad thing is I think you'd ENJOY the padded walls."

"As long as the strait jacket can be decorated with rhinestones, I think I'll be okay," Lorelai mused. "And if they still give me coffee."

"They'd give you coffee in a mental institution? What kind of place are you thinking of?" Luke asked, gathering his tools.

Lorelai shrugged. "One that I'd go to. Well, I'll have to make a list of questions for Rory to ask when they put me in one, you know, scouting the perfect place?"

"You're going sooner than you think," Luke grumbled.

She smiled. "Thanks for fixing the door," she said, looking at her toes.

"You're welcome. See you later?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded. "I'll probably be in for lunch, unless you've suddenly stopped serving lunch. Have you stopped serving lunch? If you have, I think I'll have to picket outside the diner, in protest."

"We still have lunch," Luke said, confused.

She sighed, looking at Luke. "Uh, okay, then. I guess I'll see you at lunch."

"I guess you will," Luke repeated.

"Thanks again for fixing Dante," she called.

Luke turned around. "Dante?"

"The door… his name is… Dante… never mind," Lorelai said, sensing the awkwardness returning.

Luke just nodded and walked out. Lorelai sighed, hoping she could get over this. She'd gotten over guys before… she'd just have to do it again. "Fine mess you've gotten yourself into, Gilmore," she said to herself, taking one last sip of coffee before tossing the empty cup into the trash can.


	5. Lorelai Gets Her Groove Back

**A/N: The only excuse I have for leaving this story behind is… none. My muse didn't like it. But my muse likes it now. The rest of the story is outlined and will be up soon. Enjoy!**

Lorelai came downstairs the next morning, realizing the full gravity of her stupidity. Grabbing the coffee pot and filling it with water, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. Sure, she messed up, but she supposed she was far enough removed from it that she could start moving on.

After all, life was too short. She'd wallowed, she'd thought it over, and accepted the fact that she'd messed up. Coffee and breakfast at Luke's with Rory was going to be the first step in Lorelai's return to normalcy.

And apparently while pod Lorelai made an appearance, she forgot to get coffee. Lorelai groaned, sitting at the table and putting her head in her hands.

"Is it national 'Wake up on the wrong side of the bed' day? Because you know, I think you'd be their spokesperson," Rory quipped, smoothing out her uniform skirt as she walked out into the living room.

"I was going to stop being pod Lorelai today, but there's no coffee," she mumbled.

Rory hugged Lorelai. "Get dressed, I'll treat you to a welcome back breakfast at Luke's."

Lorelai stood up, stretching her arms, and slowly made her way upstairs. She picked out a black low cut sweater and a pair of jeans. There were no conferences booked at the inn, and she decided she needed a day to be casual. She was her own boss, after all. She hooked her necklace and put on her makeup, ignoring the throbbing headache she was getting from the lack of coffee.

Rory had her saddle shoes and her backpack on by the time Lorelai came downstairs again. Lorelai grabbed her purse and threw on her black boots. At this point, she didn't care how she looked. Her mind was on the coffee.

She politely nodded and smiled as Rory told her the saga of Paris and something about the guidance counselor. Lorelai wanted to listen, but the pounding in her head prevented her from doing so. Once she had that coffee in her hands, the follow up questions would come. As she opened the door to the diner, and the coffee smell floated her way, she started to feel better.

"So then I asked her what she was thinking," Rory continued, pulling out her chair and dropping her backpack next to her.

"Clearly she wasn't," Lorelai added, praying it would make sense with what Rory was saying.

"My point exactly," Rory continued. "So then at some point, there was a meltdown."

"Paris had a meltdown?" 

Rory shook her head. "The guidance counselor. Paris walked out smiling."

"Man, she's evil," Lorelai muttered, making eye contact with Luke. "Luke? Coffee, please?"

Rory pulled her chair in closer to the table. "I need some amusement. I have a huge math test today that I'd really prefer not to think about until the moment it's placed in front of me."

"Honey, I really need some coffee first," Lorelai insisted.

Rory giggled. "Totally understandable. "

Luke walked over and poured them each a cup of coffee. "What can I get you?" he asked.

"I'll have eggs this morning, I'm in the mood for eggs," Rory replied.

"And for you?" Luke asked.

Lorelai finally put the coffee cup down and looked at Luke. "More coffee and chocolate chip pancakes."

"You drank all that coffee that quickly?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"Wasn't it hot?"

She shrugged. "Not scalding. I enjoyed it. Good cup of coffee, another please?"

"You're insane," he muttered, pouring her another cup of coffee and walking back into the kitchen.

Rory smiled. "I have no idea where you went for the past week, but I'm glad you're back. I missed Luke's coffee way too much."

"You have no idea," Lorelai said, sipping more of her coffee. "You wanted entertainment? I'll tell a joke."

"Please don't subject me to the rabbi, the priest, and the duck joke again," Rory groaned.

Lorelai giggled. "No, no, this one's a great one. What do you call cheese that's not yours?"

Rory raised her eyebrows. She took a long sip of coffee and put the mug down again. "Uh, I don't know."

"Nacho cheese. Get it? Nacho? Not your? Isn't that the greatest joke? Sookie told me that one last week," Lorelai said, giggling.

"Are you sure pod Lorelai went to her happy place?"

Lorelai nodded. "I'm positive. I'm so over the entire situation. I'm here eating, right? That's proof in and of itself that I'm fine!"

Rory smiled. "Well, good. That means I can find my '1,2,3 He's Yours' soulmate."

Lorelai nearly spit out her coffee. "I'm not quite ready for that yet. I may relapse."

"Fine. But you're going to have to come back to it eventually. It's dumb that you've decided that playing the game may make you have a major Naomi Campbell meltdown," Rory teased.

"Tomorrow, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, missy," Rory teased.

Luke returned from the kitchen with the pancakes and the eggs. He placed them on the table and shook his head at Lorelai's eagerness to devour her pancakes. "You act like you haven't eaten in weeks, Lorelai!"

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm just really, really hungry," she said, swallowing and shoving another forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Couldn't be better," she replied, her mouth still full.

He walked away and Rory laughed. "Ah, yes, things ARE back to normal in Luke and Lorelai land!"

"I told you we were good, babe!" Lorelai said, downing some coffee.

Rory smiled. "Well, don't go screwing up any more perfectly good relationships unless they're someone else's… someone you really hate."

"Ooh, like uh… which celebrity do I hate and want to steal their boyfriend?"

"I was thinking locally, but okay, dream big… that's what you've always told me!" Rory teased.

Lorelai sipped her coffee again. "It is, and I suggest that you stop listening to me so much. Most kids don't do that."

"Who said I was normal, anyway?" Rory said, grabbing her backpack. "Well, I'm glad you got your groove back… I'm almost late for the bus. See you tonight?"

"Don't work too hard! And that is the one thing you should listen to!" Lorelai called as Rory walked out the door.

She looked over at Luke, still serving coffee. Suddenly, she wondered where Rachel was. She'd made some appearances, but this was the first morning in awhile that Lorelai hadn't crossed Rachel's path. Lorelai shrugged it off, and left money on the table for their breakfast.

Still, something weird was going on.


	6. Stop and Stare

It had been a long Friday night. All Lorelai needed was some coffee and it would make everything better. It always did. Luke's coffee was the panacea for anything that went wrong in her life. Coffee was the only thing that could bring her out of her deep Friday night Dinner induced funk.

But there was a problem. She pulled on the diner door and saw the "closed" sign. Lorelai wanted to crumble to the ground and cry… she really, really needed that coffee. Suddenly, she smiled. She had found the perfect loophole.

The solution was as simple as getting Luke to serve her, despite the fact that the diner had already closed. Figuring out how to convince him would be the fun part. She lightly tapped on the door and stepped back. She waited and got no response. Letting out a sigh, Lorelai rolled her eyes and sat down on the curb, resolving not to break into the diner. He'd come down eventually after the bird calls started.

She pulled at the string on her jacket, tapping her foot and humming as she waited for Luke to open the diner for her. Letting out another deep sigh, she checked her watch. It was late, but not late enough that Luke was already sleeping. She groaned, standing up and taking a deep breath to shout for Luke, when she saw Rachel with all of her bags, standing in the diner.

Lorelai moved out of the line of sight, but stayed as close as possible to the diner. This was big! All the packed bags surely meant something. They probably meant that Rachel was officially staying in Stars Hollow, maybe she found an apartment.

She could hear the muffled sounds of Rachel and Luke arguing. Lorelai crouched just below the window, listening what they had to say. Why were they arguing? What went wrong? They seemed like they were on good terms a few days before, while Lorelai really wished they weren't.

"I should have figured," Luke shouted.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and shuddered. Luke was really upset! She sat down on the concrete and pulled her knees to her chest as she listened.

"Luke, I think…"

She strained to hear the rest. She heard nothing, and she groaned. "Now would be such a good time for a cup to hold against the wall," she muttered to herself.

"Rachel, you really don't think that, do you?" he asked.

"Think what? Think what?" Lorelai hissed. "Details are key when letting someone spy on you!"

Rachel's voice lowered and all Lorelai could hear was the muffled sounds that seemed to be running together. Finally, Rachel articulated something. "I'm not staying, Luke."

Lorelai gasped. Sure, Rachel had a history of leaving. But no one in the town seemed to think she was going to leave. There were no rumblings of a disappearance on the horizon. But Lorelai realized that she had been in her own little world for the past few days. Maybe something came up that she wasn't aware of?

There were more words muttered between them and Lorelai slowly scooted closer to the door, still crouching to avoid being seen. She fought the urge to stand up and stare into the window, watching the fight as she would a movie.

"When's your flight?" Luke asked, sounding dejected.

Lorelai heard more mumbling from Rachel and then the word "afternoon."

"You guys are terrible to spy on, you give no details away to the world," Lorelai muttered, pulling her back away from the wall and bending it a little to avoid soreness.

It was Luke's turn to talk again, but Lorelai still couldn't hear a word he said. She sighed. She'd picked a terrible spot to spy from, and all she knew was that Rachel was leaving. That information in the gossip mill was virtually useless. Patty and Babette would know why she left and where she was going before Lorelai even comprehended the departure.

Lorelai stared at her shoes as the conversation dragged on. It was probably a short conversation, but to Lorelai, sitting underneath the window of Luke's diner, it was extremely long. Knowing that if she got up, she would be seen, she stayed sitting under the window. What else was she supposed to do? Her curiosity was taking over, despite the fear of getting caught while spying on Luke.

She jumped when she heard the bells on the diner door ring and she watched as Rachel turned the other way and walked down the street. Lorelai stayed crouched beneath the window, staring at Rachel as she got into a cab and drove off.

She shuddered. Was it safe to get up? She pulled herself off of the ground and brushed off her backside before staring into the window. She watched as Luke wiped down the counter, obviously trying not to dwell on what just happened. He vigorously scrubbed the counter several times until he finally turned off the light and walked upstairs.

Lorelai suddenly didn't need the coffee anymore. Well, she needed the coffee, but she figured Luke needed his sanity more. She slowly walked back to the house, her hands in her pockets, contemplating what had just happened.

Opening the door, Lorelai saw Rory hard at work in the kitchen, all her books spread out on the table. Lorelai walked over to the coffee pot and Rory looked up.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey sweets," Lorelai replied.

Rory smiled. "What, Luke's coffee not enough for you, my little coffee addict?"

She shrugged. "Luke's wasn't open. He and Rachel were having some sort of weird fight when I walked up."

Rory's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Really, really. And all I thought was 'Quick, hide! They won't see you and you'll be able to spy!'"

"You spied on Luke?" Rory giggled. "You never spied on Luke when I wanted to play spy when I was little."

"Okay, one? You weren't so little, missy, we knew Luke. Two? You grew out of the spy stage in like an hour anyway, I think you'll be fine," Lorelai explained. "Plus, I didn't hear much. Rachel was upset about something so she left. That's all I know. Someone's already got the sexy part of the story lined up for the next issue of the Gazette."

Rory put down her pencil. "Hmm. That surprises me, honestly… I mean, yeah, she has a history of running… but… I just wonder what went wrong."

Lorelai placed a cup of coffee in front of her daughter. "You're not the only one, who wonders that, kiddo. Believe me."


	7. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Lorelai woke up the next morning, absolutely sure that Luke wasn't going to be in the best of moods. She promised not to bother him but so much that morning. She'd thought of things she could do to make him laugh on the way over when she realized that Luke very rarely laughed. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed it before, but when trying to think of times he had, there was maybe one time that stood out. She'd jokingly referred to him as one of the Buckingham Palace guards before, but she hadn't realized the extent to which it really was true! She'd make him crack. She would. How to do it was the question.

She continued to contemplate as Rory and Lorelai sat across from each other at the table. Lorelai sipped her coffee while Rory scanned her notes. Lorelai was deep in thought about a conference at the inn when she heard Rory's book slam shut.

"I didn't know you had that sort of strength in you this early in the morning! What did he ever do to you?" Lorelai teased.

Rory sighed. "Mom? I need entertainment. I really, really do. Please? I've studied way more than I can handle and I think my knowledge is oozing out my ears. Entertain me before I go insane?"

Lorelai smiled. "Taking a break? Good girl," she said, sipping her coffee again. "What do you need? I'm a great stand up comedienne, I'm an excellent song stylist…"

"Mom?"

"Yes, Rory?" Lorelai smirked.

"Can we play 123?"

Lorelai smiled. "Fine. But if I end up with Andrew this time…"

Rory giggled, looking out the window. "Maybe George Clooney will walk by and you'll be so mesmerized that you just fall into his arms…"

"Reality escapes you this morning, doesn't it? Can we just determine my fate already?" Lorelai teased.

"Wow, someone's impatient this morning. One," Rory said, pointing to a short gentleman with a goatee.

Lorelai leaned in to see the man. She looked at Rory and shook her head. "Nope. I'd rather not travel to Munchkinland, to meet his parents, thank you very much."

Rory took a bite of her bacon. "Aww, you don't think he's a cute little munchkin?"

"Not so much. Two, please?"

Rory looked out the window and gasped. "Two," she said, unable to control her laughter and breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Taylor? Rory, please, you've got to be kidding me," Lorelai groaned, rolling her eyes and shoving a bite of her breakfast in her mouth.

Rory grinned. "You can wear matching cardigans… he can have you co-officiate town meetings."

"Stop right there. Seriously. Number three had better be handsome or I'm staying single for the rest of my life," Lorelai declared, shuddering. "Taylor? Eew. And I beg you, stop before another word comes out of your mouth."

"This is really making me feel so much better!" Rory gushed. "If number three is Kirk, this could reach a whole new level of cool."

Lorelai downed the rest of her coffee. "If you value your life you will conveniently not see Kirk when he passes by."

Rory and Lorelai stared out the window for a moment, waiting for man number three to pass, until Luke reached over to grab Lorelai's empty plate. Rory raised her eyebrows at Lorelai and held up three fingers. "So, Luke, uh, how's it feel to be number three?"

"I have a feeling I will never know what you're talking about, and I also have a feeling that I don't really want to know," Luke grumbled, grabbing Rory's plate as well.

Lorelai glared at a giggling Rory, rolled her eyes, and pulled out her chair. She walked up to the empty counter and took a seat. Watching as Luke wiped down the counter, she pondered whether or not to say anything about Rachel. She folded her hands and put them on the counter, tilting her head to the side.

"What?" Luke asked, finally noticing that she was staring at him.

"Sorry about Rachel," she said.

Luke looked up at her, stopping what he was doing. "How did you know about Rachel?"

Lorelai bit her lip, searching for an answer. "Small town," she said, nodding gravely.

"Word does travel fast," he conceded, walking to the cash register.

She moved down a few stools to be able to talk to Luke. "If it makes you feel any better? You're now my eternal soul mate. You were the winner. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Whoa, I suddenly just got really hungry again."

"Want to rub this in some more? Go ahead," Luke muttered.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Luke?"

"You're rubbing it in!" he hissed.

She rolled her eyes. "I most certainly am not! Drama queen."

"You're sitting here, telling me about some stupid little game you're playing, and you know what happened last night. You're finding this really amusing, aren't you? You just LOVE rubbing your happiness in my face at the perfect times, don't you?" he ranted.

Lorelai walked around the counter, pulling a ranting Luke outside the diner. "Okay, come out here," she insisted.

"What the HELL are you doing?" he demanded.

"This is between you and me, not all of them," Lorelai countered, crossing her arms. "You'll thank me at some point."

Luke looked around. "What, this is better?" he asked, gesturing to the town.

"Just say your peace, please," she urged him.

"You're rubbing it in. Rachel already left because she thought I liked you, so why not just keep raining on my parade, huh? You and Max loved to do it that night when it was snowing, just acting all lovey dovey in the middle of town while it was snowing, right in front of me," Luke ranted.

Lorelai scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What are you talking about? And on a side note? I love how you just said 'lovey dovey'."

"You knew I had a thing for you. I know you knew. Everyone knew. Even Rachel knew. That's why she left. So, I walked over to the table, purposely attempting to be that third person, seeing what you'd do. And there you go, just mocking me and continuing to rub this whole thing in my face!" he said, his face turning red with frustration and anger.

"Whoa, not exactly painting a very pretty picture of me there, Picasso," Lorelai offered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, don't play that game with me."

"Luke, the first time we played this stupid game, I took it a little too seriously! I had a huge epiphany, Luke! I thought about what kind of guy you were in a romantic way for the first time since we met!"

"What are you talking about, since the first time we met? You make no sense!" 

Lorelai took a deep breath. "The first day, I was really flirting with you. I did the best flirt I could imagine, because in addition to a great need for coffee, I found you extremely attractive. I almost left my phone number on that horoscope, but I figured you wouldn't really want to stop by the potting shed. We hadn't quite moved into the house yet. I decided against it, and I figured you had no idea I was flirting, so I let it go. But the other day, Rory and I were playing this game, and you were number three!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You were number three, and for the first time in a long time I thought of you romantically. I thought of you in a way I was scared to think of you before. And I jumped on the idea, but you were still with Rachel. I flirted, and nothing. I broke up with Max thinking I had a chance with you, Luke, and I'm never, ever that flighty!" she ranted. "And at the Firelight Festival? And the picture of the inn? Come ON, Luke, that's one of those things you unintentionally rubbed in MY face, too."

"Well, I guess we're even then," Luke insisted.

Lorelai gasped. "And what made you so mad about my momentary happiness, anyway? Seriously! Why were you so upset when I was with Max? You didn't want me to be happy?"

"Lorelai, you've rubbed every relationship you've ever had in my face! You don't consciously do it, but you rub it in my face! I remember…"

At that moment, Lorelai tuned out. Why were they fighting? Sure, they were always very poor communicators, but why were they fighting about their feelings for each other? She impulsively leaned in and kissed him, ending his rant altogether. She finally stepped back and Luke looked at her, stunned.

"What…"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wondered the same thing."

"That…"

She giggled. "Ah, I've left you speechless. All in a day's work."

"What does this mean?" Luke asked.

"It means anything you want it to mean," Lorelai said with a wink, starting for the door. "Ball's in your court."

"Wait," Luke said, holding out his hand as though to try and stop her.

She turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to… have dinner sometime?"

Lorelai smiled. "I'd love to," she said. "And after all, I should give number three a shot for once. Number three isn't always the one you're 'stuck' with."

"Good to hear," he said, opening the door for her.

_The End_

**A/N: Another Java Journey comes to an end! I want to wholeheartedly thank all of you for reading and reviewing. I have two more works in progress now and once those are stable, I should be putting out a new chapter fic. Keep an eye out! Thank you all again for your support!**


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